Of monasteries and temples

Going to Armenia was expecting heaps of monastery excursions to do. Rightly so, it’s what we’re up to the minute our do-it-yourself tour commenced. But like what I’ve mentioned in my previous post, Armenians are extremely amiable and helpful by nature. Thank goodness for that it had eased out our journey bigtime, even with the absence of an official tour-guide.

Here’s an account of our first day in the region:

With the Monastery of Khor Virap in mind, my friends and I wanted to head out first to Artashat town. A few meters outside our hostel, I approached a guy to ask for some information and all of a sudden we were swarmed with spectators, I did feel like a celebrity! All of them attempted to help but frustratingly enough, English language is alien to them. It was messy but funny at the same time.

The metro station was just two blocks from our hostel so we managed to get there on foot while enjoying the Caucasus sun.  At first glance, the metro station appeared a bit creepy and had I pass by it on my own, there’s no way of me recognizing it as a train station. It looks abandoned and ruined. The subway interior reminded me of Paris, the eerie atmosphere and all. And the train had definitely gone squeaky and rusty through time. But don’t get me wrong! Because despite my seemingly dismal description, I honestly love the way everything is. I felt transported back to the Soviet era. Yes, I could smell history in it and it felt amazing! From the metro, we moved on searching for a local bus.

As foreseen, we struggled in communicating with the marshrutka (minibus) driver. The only chance we got away with misunderstanding was by being crazily animated – name all forms of non-verbal communication, we had it. It was painfully ridiculous, and we continued on like this for the entire trip. And by the way, the minibus was classic.

We were dropped off after about an hour however, we needed to walk a few meters more to reach the exact spot of the monastery. We reckoned why not show a thumb for a ride? After all, Armenia is popularly-known for hitchhiking. And boy, did we get the start of our hitchhiking streak. An absolute bliss!

Khor Virap Monastery was a spectacle on its own. In addition, it is close to the Turkish border and offers Armenia’s most splendid view of Mount Ararat, from which, according to the Holy Bible, Noah’s ark landed following the great flood.  Though it wasn’t the clearest of days, the perimeter of the ‘sacred mountain’ was still visible, providing a stunning backdrop to the already wonderful monastery. Upon exiting, the local shopowners/tenders insisted to offer us some refreshments ie water, ice cream, sunflower seeds and so on! Who wouldn’t accept gifts at their doorsteps?

As we still had ample of time left, we decided to proceed to the two UNESCO heritage sites – Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery – which took us another hour on the road.

The Hellenic style Garni Temple impressed! It was imposing and spoke of so much history. It couldn’t be anymore perfectly situated.  Truly a mind sweeper!  The temple was erected on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a refreshing stream – a picturesque ravine I must say. In the olden days it was the summer residence of Armenian kings and was a pre-Christian temple, honoring Mithra, the god of the sun.

Not so far away was the Geghard Monastery, another magnificent monument of medieval Armenian architecture. It was partly and literally carved out of a rocky mountain and it seemed to have been surrounded with caves of some sort. Mythology says the monastery was named after the legendary spear – geghard – (that pierced Christ) that was brought into one of the nearby cave monasteries.  We found ourselves climbing into a cliff trembling but were wowed at the incredible view presented before our very eyes. We just could not help but say our prayers of gratitude for such a wonderful opportunity! We lingered for a while and relished the rare moment!

We arrived back in the hostel knackered but enjoyed a quick rest and shower before taking off again for an evening sightseeing in the capital. We headed straight to the bustling Republic Square that showcased the well-talked dancing fountain. It seemed that the whole of Yerevan was out there enjoying the show – remarkably donned with 3-inch heels and sexy dresses – definitely looking like a big party place at night.

We sat down for dinner in an okay restaurant and not a minute had passed when a guy from the other table (whom I didn’t notice) tried to strike a conversation and as an SOP asked whether I’m Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. I am a Filipino for crying out loud! Eventually, Hayk (he said his name was) and his guy friend joined us. They looked unsuspecting so we warmly offered them the extra seats. We ate and spent the remainder of the night exchanging relevant information about each other’s culture. It was a remarkable evening spent with genuine acquaintances – the joys of traveling!